Groupthink: Psychological Studies of Policy Decisions and FiascoesGroupthink - the psychological drive for consensus at any cost that suppresses disagreement and prevents the appraisal of alternatives in cohesive decision-making groups. In the first edition (Victims of groupthink), Iriving L. Janis showed how this phenomenon contributed to some of the major U.S. foreign policy fiascos of recent decades: the Korean War stalemate, the escalation of the Vietnam War, the failure to be prepared for the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the Bay of Pigs blunder. He also examined cases, such as the handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the formulation of the Marshall Plan, where groupthink was avoided. Here, in this revised and expanded edition, Janis applies his hypothesis to the Watergate cover-up, portraying in detail how groupthink helped to put the participants on a disastrous couurse and keep them there. In addition, he presents some fresh ideas on how and why groupthink occurs and offers suggestions for avoiding it. |
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Page 157
Alexander George points out that the majority of the members of the Executive
Committee resisted urgent pressures from the Joint Chiefs of Staff to send an
ultimatum threatening an immediate military confrontation ; instead , they adopted
a ...
Alexander George points out that the majority of the members of the Executive
Committee resisted urgent pressures from the Joint Chiefs of Staff to send an
ultimatum threatening an immediate military confrontation ; instead , they adopted
a ...
Page 168
Harriman Committee was a nineteen - member advisory group that included
distinguished heads of industrial firms , banks ... President Truman and his
advisers arranged to set up two independent supplementary committees — one
under the ...
Harriman Committee was a nineteen - member advisory group that included
distinguished heads of industrial firms , banks ... President Truman and his
advisers arranged to set up two independent supplementary committees — one
under the ...
Page 169
theless , noncohesive committees have problems of their own , and their
problems cause errors in decision - making that ... When a noncohesive group ,
like the Harriman Committee , engages in vigorous debate and avoids the
pressures to ...
theless , noncohesive committees have problems of their own , and their
problems cause errors in decision - making that ... When a noncohesive group ,
like the Harriman Committee , engages in vigorous debate and avoids the
pressures to ...
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Contents
Why So Many Miscalculations? | 2 |
The Bay of Pigs | 14 |
Or Why the Fortress Slept | 72 |
Copyright | |
4 other sections not shown
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Common terms and phrases
accept according action administration Admiral advisers alternative American appears asked assumptions attack avoid Bay of Pigs become called Chiefs cohesive Committee concerning consensus consequences continued course cover-up crisis critical Cuba Cuban danger Dean decision decision-making Defense deliberations Department discussion effect errors evidence example Executive expected fact factors feel fiasco forces give groupthink Haldeman invasion involved issues Japanese Johnson judgment Kennedy leader leading major March meetings military missile moral Nixon norms North objections officers operation participants Pearl Harbor policy-making political position possible present President pressures probably problem procedures proposed questions responsible result risks role says Secretary seems Senator shared social Soviet staff stress strong suggested symptoms of groupthink thinking threat tion transcripts Truman United Vietnam warning Watergate White House
References to this book
Bibliographic information
| Title | Groupthink: Psychological Studies of Policy Decisions and Fiascoes |
| Author | Irving Lester Janis |
| Edition | 2, illustrated, revised |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin, 1982 |
| ISBN | 0395317045, 9780395317044 |
| Length | 349 pages |
| Subjects | › Psychology / Social Psychology |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |